Taka, The False Hyuuga
by Professor Orio
Summary: Taka, a normal boy by any category except for the eyes he was wrongly born with. He was born with the famous Byakugan but was seemingly not born of parents from the prestigious Hyuuga clan. Danzo Shimura, the creator of the Splinter Cell Anbu of Konoha, takes him in as an infant. He achieves shinobi status at the height of the Third Great Ninja. (He will meet the aprpriate Shinobi)
1. An, 'Average,' Childhood

_**(So, Taka's Story was scrapped, and I redid everything; he is around the same age as Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and all the others. Hopefully, this one is more enjoyable and less... insert filled...)**_

* * *

Our story begins in a Village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire, a young boy is born and in his eyes are the paleness known only to the Hyuuga Clan of the Village Hidden in The Leaves.

When the baby was held by his father, the father looked at it as if it were a devil, he ignorantly believed it to be the bastard child of a Hyuuga despite his village's distance from Konoha.

In a rage fueled tantrum the man ran to a nearby river, the waves raging in the storm. He threw his own son into the torrents, leaving him for the watery wolves.

He then returns back to his home to his now sobbing wife, rid of his child that he so ignorantly believed wasn't of his loins.

However, the child floats down the river with his swaddling as a flotation device, some deity seemingly keeping it that way.

Days later the infant is found by a passing man, his face stone, and his hair jet black. He is surprised, how did this baby find it's way here?

He motioned towards the infant, _"Tutsuchi, check the child."_

The guard, cloaked in a dark, hooded robe, found something very strange about the child. Upon showing his Lord he was told to bring the infant with them.

" _Yes, Lord Danzo."_

* * *

Taka woke up and was met with the scrumptious scent of pork, _"Ah, Taka you've finally awoken."_

" _I smell pork!"_ he immediately set upon his plate, tearing into the meat with obvious delight.

" _Hey, slow down Taka, you'll get a stomach ache if you eat that fast!"_

Taka stared at his older sister, her vermillion hair tied neatly into a bun, _"C'mon Tsunki, it's not like I'm five anymore, don't coddle me."_

Tsuki ruffled her little brother's hair, _"Then why do you keep acting like you are?"_

Taka frowned, he was tired of being treated like a child, but before he could try for the umpteenth time to overpower his sibling upon the door a hand harshly rapped. Tsuki frowned, _"Save that thought Taka, it's time for training."_

* * *

Taka hated training, it really hurt.

Taka dragged his body off the ground once more, resisting the urge to flee that seized him every time he gazed upon his master's face. His opponent came at him full speed, her vermillion hair tied neatly in a bun, her face obscured by the emotionless mask she wore.

Try as he might, Taka could not overpower his older sister. He hated training, he truly did, his sister was a rather caring creature but every time they were forced to train she seemed to lose all emotions, her face was a symbolic mask of stone.

Tsuki threw her brother against the tree and followed the attack with a knee to his chin, Taka became unconscious soon after.

Tsuki felt like crying, every bone, every vein, every fiber of her being was disgusted by both her and her master. She couldn't even mend his wounds until their Lord left with a sneer, _"It seems that you will win in the trial Tsunki."_

' _ **I hope for your sake that I do, Lord Danzo...'**_

* * *

 _ **Years Later:**_

Taka, now thirteen years of age, sat on his bedding waiting for his sister's return. She said she was going to get him a surprise, he wondered what it would be... perhaps she would get him a pet, like a cat... no Taka wouldn't want a cat, too high maintenance, or he assumed so.

Maybe she was doing some extensive hunting so they could have a pork buffet! Now that, that was something Taka would enjoy.

A heavy hand knocking against the shack's door roused Taka from his food fantasy, _"Tsuki, welcome-"_

Tsuki's beat up body was cast inside the shack by a tall man who Taka noticed to be the same shinobi who always brought them to Lord Danzo for training, _"What the hell is wrong with you!"_

The man said nothing, electing instead to not humor Taka but walk away from the scene entirely, _"The first rule, you are not allowed to leave the woods... take care not to break that again Tsuki, or there will be no need for the trial."_

Taka's fist clenched, how could he act like that, he wanted more than anything to just rip that stupid animal mask off of the shinobi. However, a soft hand released all of the anger from him, _"Don't worry. I w-won't..."_

The older man walked off, content with her word. Taka stared daggers even when the door was slammed shut, _"Why did you even leave Big Sis!"_

Tsuki smiled through the pain and held up a torn piece of cloth, Taka had clue what it meant. But she did, _"Your real family... "_

He shook his head, she was the only family he had, nobody else other than Lord Danzo and that piece of crap who always brought them to him. He shook his head, refusing to take it, _"Even if this is true… I don't care."_

It was Tsuki's turn to shake her head, _"You'll want to keep it… t-trust me."_

" _Alright, but don't expect me to stitch it onto me,"_ Taka said in a huff.

* * *

Taka rushed from tree to tree, his opponent soon upon him. This was his final test, but he didn't want to do what it took to pass.

" _Taka… you cannot escape. This is what we are left to do, we have to serve dutifully."_

Even with his Byakugan, he couldn't see where his elder sister was, she was unique in the fact she could hide from his vision, it was the reason Lord Danzo had plucked her from her family at birth.

What he did see though was the flock of kunai being propelled at him. He twisted his body in a manner that allowed him to dodge the Reaper's tools. But one hidden shuriken found his knee, _**'H**_ _ **ow many traps did Tsuki set up!'**_

He fell to his knee on the hard ground below, he quickly used his what medical knowledge he had to quickly bandage himself.

He made a mistake in doing so, his elder sister had appeared behind him and poised a kunai to his neck, _"Taka… please forgive me."_

Though he didn't want to harm her, he could let himself die; the air around the young boy shifted like the air on a hot summer day. Tsuki tensed and her reflexes kicked in, but it was too late by then.

The elder sister was flung by Taka's Eight Trigrams Rotation, it was a miniature version but it had still served its protective purpose.

Taka took the chance to flee the scene.

* * *

He took refuge in a cave that he had known not to be there days prior so that meant Tsunki wouldn't find him there for at least a few minutes longer.

' _ **How… how did everything go to such shit?'**_ Taka had known that the test was something horrid, this was Lord Danzo he was talking about! When he was little he thought of the man who had saved him as a baby from drowning as a paternal figure, but as he matured he began to see the dark in him.

This test was just the cherry on top.

" _Found you."_

Taka felt the kunai puncture his good knee, he was as good as dead.

Tsuki allowed herself one tear as the cave collapsed from the explosive kunai, her brother was dead, no time for mourning.

Sure enough, Lord Danzo appeared, _"Tsunki… you have-"_

Danzo disappeared as a fist ripped through the rubble, a slight supernatural blue aura covering it. Tsuki frowned, had Taka survived the blast? But how?

Her fear was confirmed by the rest of her little brother's body erupting from below hundred pound rocks, _"Taka?"_

Instead of the normal black, his hair was stark white and flowing very, very slightly. The supernatural tint of blue that had covered his arm was found to also sheath the entirety of his body.

Tsunki was, for lack of a better word, confused. Was this really Taka? No… this couldn't have been, it has to be an enemy Ninja. Lord Danzo would have never run from Taka, the kind soul that he was.

She readied her last kunai, and the enemy Shinobi did the same, _**'A chakra cloak, he must be an Anbu or a Jonin at least; but he does look rather young.'**_

She decided she might as well take the first shot, her hands moved at rapid speeds. As the final seal was activated she opened her mouth and a geyser of water shot towards her enemy.

He didn't move, didn't make a counter, he just took the full brunt. Tsuki's brain became flooded as her body shot signals of fear.

When the water had soaked into the ground the Shinobi made his move, a simple stroll towards his eld… his enemy.

Tsuki weaved more signs and slammed her hand on the ground, a dome of pure stone trapping the enemy. He broke through it seconds later and continued his walk, quickening his pace as if he were growing irritated.

Tsuki threw paper bombs, kunai, shuriken, she even tried her water bullet Jutsu. But the Shinobi merely cast aside the explosives, caught the first kunai and deflected every other projectile. As for the water bullets, he used rotation to render the Jutsu ineffective.

He used rotation… it had to be Taka, she just knew it, _"T-Ta-"_

Taka closed the distance by seemingly teleporting, he now had her gripped in his hands. How odd was the scene? A fourteen-year-old holding up a sixteen-year-old who was a foot or two taller than he was.

She let her tears fall, she deserved this, she had tried to kill him because she didn't want the world to swallow him whole, she thought of him, his kindness, as something the world would find delectable. She never wanted to, but she had begun to think of him as too weak, Lord Danzo would have killed him if she hadn't.

He had crushed her windpipe in the process so she couldn't say anything, _**'Taka… it seems that I was too weak for this world... '**_

She gave up in trying to take his hand from her throat and instead chose to commit one final act of love, she kissed the tips of her index and middle finger and tapped them to his cheek.

That one final act was all it took to snap the younger sibling out of his trance, _"What… what happened... Tsuki? Tsuki!"_

He realized what he was doing and lost all of his strength, her body fell to the ground with a thud.

" _Tsuki, I'm sorry! Please… don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead!"_ Taka's tears dropped to the ground as he pumped his sister's chest, her heart had stopped.

As if the world felt the young child's pain, it too wept, it's tears struck Taka and his adoptive sibling.

" _Hmm… this was not as expected."_ Taka refused to acknowledge his Lord, not while Tsunki could be saved.

Lord Danzo did not care that Taka didn't acknowledge him, _"She is dead, there is nothing more we can do."_

Taka tensed, Danzo grew curious, his guard grew wary. The guard had watched the fight and knew what the boy was now capable of, so when Taka had turned and one of his eyes had a white floral pattern, he had stepped in the way.

" _Shut the hell up! Shut your old, rotten mouth!"_ Taka had gotten up, the small sheath of blue energy once again resting upon his skin. The guard tried to stop him but wound up dad from a Gentle Fist strike directly to the heart, extra power behind it courtesy of the new eye Taka had awoken.

Danzo looked at his guard's heart as it rolled close to him, _"I really did not want to do this but you have left me with no choice you insolent brat."_

He weaved very few signs and Taka soon writhed, it was a very simple paralysis Jutsu that also had a very painful effect on the victim.

Danzo did not release his Jutsu until Taka had passed into the realm of slumber and his icy blue cloak had dispersed.

Danzo then whistled and two more of his personal guards appeared, _"He has passed his test, get him ready for the seal."_


	2. The Mission Starts

_**'I hate life… it has no meaning… why do I live…'** _ Taka cries, but only internally.

His Lord hovers above him, fresh from administering the seal that would prevent his newest pet from revealing any information about his Lord, _"You are mine, you will follow any orders I give you or any orders a superior gives you without hesitation. Is this understood?"_

 _ **'Kill him… it'd be easy.'**_

Taka resists the urge to bite his tongue off, _"Yes… Lord Danzo."_

The horrid man gives what passes for a smile on his face, _"Good, you're first mission will be given to you by your squad leader,_ Karumiki _; she isn't of The Foundation, so do not do anything suspicious. Go, and do not fail."_

Taka disappears into the shadows, _"Yes, Lord Danzo."_

* * *

Taka's mask fit him like a glove, as odd as it sounded. The snout protruded slightly into his vision but wasn't anything of a hindrance. His armor was lighter than he thought it'd be considering it was made of metal.

The supplier also had given him a tanto, just for when a kunai simply wouldn't cut it, he was jokingly informed. Taka didn't find anything funny.

* * *

Karumiki was found to be waiting at the top of the village's northeastern part of the wall, as were two other ANBU members: Furatomi and Tichi.

Taka heard who he assumed to be Furatomi laugh, _"Hey, who wants to bet he's from the Inuzuka Clan?"_

Tichi finished categorizing her vials, some filled with medicinal liquids, such as antidotes, and others filled with the deadliest of poisons, _"Tomi, that's kind of insensitive. None of our masks symbolize what Clan we're from, if that were the case then you'd be the one from the Inuzuka Clan with that dog mask of yours."_

 _"Well, what is your guess then?"_

She put her free hand to the chin of her primate-themed mask, _"Judging from his silence and anti-social behavior, I'd say Aburame, but I don't hear any insects..."_

Karumiki shifted to her other leg, _"He's a Hyuuga."_

Taka flinched, _"How did you know?"_

She tapped her turtle mask's nose, _"It's in the scent; by the by, I'm the Inuzuka member here."_

 _"Oh... ok."_

Furatomi stood up and dusted his legs, _"Alright, so since you are the newest here that means you have to show us your face."_

Taka shook his head, _"There was nothing in the guidelines about that."_

Tichi heaved a deep sigh, she had obviously dealt with Furatomi's antics for quite a bit now, _"It isn't, he just likes hazing the new recruits."_

Furatomi scoffed, _"No, it's how I'm able to establish trust with the rookies. I see their face, they know I'll kill them if they become_ turncoat _."_

 _"Oh can it, when has-"_

 _"Shut your mouths, it is time to head out,"_ Taka made note of the authoritative presence thatKarumiki made.

* * *

 ** _The Land of Fire's Northeastern Border:_**

 _"Alright, we are entering a highly contested area, prepare yourselves for any trouble."_

The three other shadows nodded their heads in acknowledgment.

They were besieged just as they made it to the treeline. Their path halted by the shifting of the earth below them, _**'Is it Hidden Stone?'**_

Taka activated his Byakugan and spotted three ninjas coming from South, East, and West of them, the northern side being barred by a force of five shinobi. He relayed this information to his team.

No words were said as they waited for the enemy to come to them, it was obvious they had a sensory nin, but the enemy would keep them away from direct combat to prevent them from being killed. That meant these three were both out of the range for any warnings and out of range from any immediate help, they wouldn't even be able to be told whether or not that Taka and the others had been killed.

Taka hid under a stone cover, Furatomi and Tichi hid in nearby bushes, and Karumiki hid inside a hollow tree.

Three sets of footsteps stopped by Taka's cover, _"Well?"_

 _"Nothing, I didn't see hair or hide of anybody '_ cept _the dead bodies that were already there."_

 _"Great, somebody needs to tell Koishi to get some rest, one more false alarm like this and he won't have to worry about the enemy getting-"_

A spray of red came from the man's neck, the gleaming silver point of Taka's Tanto finishing the fatal bouquet.

The other two were still caught off guard, Taka took advantage of that with a few well-placed kunai.

Furatomi jumped out from his bush, _"Yep, he's definitely a Hyuuga. Only other Clan other than the Uchiha who could pull that off with such precision."_

Karumiki sniffed the air, _"We've gotta go, their comrades are on their way."_

* * *

Three Shinobi found the bodies of their comrades, the two younger ones turned their heads and hurled their breakfast on the nearby tree.

The remaining Shinobi, who had obviously seen his fair share of war, just frowned at the scene, _'Might as well recover their bodies while we can.'_

But as he shifted one of the corpses to get a better grip he heard a fizzling sound, _"Oh sh-"_

* * *

To the South of ANBU team, the explosion was heard, _"Ha ha! Boom boom baby!"_

 _"This war is dreadful, it allows people like Furatomi to get a hold of explosive seals,_ " Tichi said.

 _ **'Is that it? Just because of that?'**_ Taka didn't hate this war, he was only thrust into it today. Heck, this morning he had been eating breakfast with Tsuki...

Taka's emotions had a knife taken to their throats once more, _"What is this mission anyways_ Karumiki _."_

She didn't speak, so Taka decided to leave well enough alone.

Taka felt somebody move closer to him, he had to restrain the initial instinct to pull a weapon as he soon found it to be Furatomi, _"We're looking for a rogue ninja. It's kind of odd you don't know."_

 _"Why is that?"_

 _"She's a Hyuuga."_

* * *

Karumiki dropped to the ground below and the others followed her example, _"We'll stay in this cave for tonight. There is a massive storm coming and I do not feel like getting caught in the middle of it. I'll take first watch."_

Nobody argued.

There was no fire, to make one would garner the attention of unwanted visitors; they had to muscle their way through the cold for hours.

Taka sat still, feeling eyes bearing upon him. He still said nothing, at least until those eyes became prodding finger. He had enough, he tore off his mask, _"There are you happy now?!"_

Taka frowned when he saw it was Tichi, _"Oh... sorry, thought you were Furatomi."_

Tichi took off her mask and Taka eyes wandered to her hair, it's color matched only by the darkest corners of the damp cave, her smile seemed to exude light, _"It's fine, I understand. Furatomi can be rather annoying, don't worry I won't tell him I saw your face before he did."_

Taka fought his smile down, he didn't deserve to smile; he lost that privilege the same moment he lost his sister, _"Thank you."_

Tichi knew something was up, _"Alright, who was it?"_

 _"Excuse me?"_

 _"Who was the girl that broke your heart."_ Tichi smirked, _"You are at that age where boys take an interest in girls, and you are definitely not part of the Hyuuga Branch Family, so you_ prolly _have some freedom with who you can court."_

Taka could feel the tears coming, he refused to let that happen. He sealed his eyelids shut with the very anger that threatened to break his inner plumbing, he took a breath in and exhaled, _"I am not interested in girls."_

 _"Oh, so you like men?"_ Taka tensed, how long had Furatomi been listening?

 _"What makes you think that?"_ Tichi asked.

He sat up and stretched, _"I mean he said he wasn't interested in girls, in this day and age it ain't too uncommon. Strange, sure, rare, no sirree."_

Taka clenched his fist, he was getting rather annoyed. But before Furatomi could escalate things any further Karumiki returned, _"Fura, you're up."_

 _"Alright, want me in a tree or on the ground?"_

 _"Take your pick."_

 _"Top of the cave it is."_

Taka frowned, how much more annoying could this guy get?

However he heard snickering, the perpetrator being Tichi. Taka threw her a look of confusion, _"What's so funny?"_

She gave a slight grin, _"We've all seen people die, we've all brought death, yet he can still joke around."_

Karumiki snorted, _"It's childish if you ask me."_

Tichi shrugged, deciding now to bear a melancholy smile, _"Yeah... I guess it is..."_

This scene confused Taka, they've all killed people, they've all surely had loved ones murdered, how were there not any emotional scars? How did they not have to kill their emotions, it didn't make any sense!

Tsuki's face kept replaying in his head, his cheek began to burn from the memory of his sin. He didn't even know if she was given a proper burial. For all he knew, her body could have easily been hauled to some cave, not unlike the one he currently sat in, being picked clean by some animal.

The image of his caring elder sister being eaten bit by bit was the final crack needed to burst his dam; the tears flowed like the river they had passed hours ago to refill their canteens, his sobs thundered like the nearby waterfall.

Tichi wraps her arms around Taka in an effort to console him, _"Shh, it's ok."_

No, it wasn't, Taka was sobbing rather loudly. He had lasted seventeen hours before he had broken down, _"I'm a murderer..."_

Karumiki grew rigid, the way he said it wasn't like they would have said it, he didn't kill some enemy ninja, _"Come again?"_

Tichi shot their captain a glare before resuming her care, _"Taka, I'm sure you had to."_

How could she even say that she wasn't there, he was, and he didn't have to fight. He remembered walking in the light, remembered the intensity of it. But before he could go, the white light suddenly became blue. Next thing he knew, he had crushed his eldest sister's windpipe.

His voice was but a whisper, _"There is always a choice... guess I chose wrong."_

Tichi, for some reason, refused to surrender, _"No, no choice is ever the correct one. The choice we choose is the one we had to, not the one that was right. If that were true then we would have a perfect world, but we don't."_

The young ANBU stopped sobbing, that was a start. His tears still drowned his face, but he had at least calmed down enough to speak at a normal volume, _"Sorry... forgive my outburst..."_

Kuramiki was still wary of the kid, but she did somewhat relax. With a heavy sigh, she patted Taka on the head, it was quite possibly the most motherly she had been her entire life, well at least while on the battlefield, _"Just calm down kid, as long as it happens out of battle it's fine."_

 _"_ Yes _ma'am..."_

Tichi released her grip on him, and for a second Taka could have sworn he saw a strand of vermilion hair, but it had turned out to be just a grief filled illusion.

* * *

Hours pass and Tichi goes on watch, hours pass after that and it is now Taka's turn.

As he stands guard at the very tip of a tree he steals a quick glance at the giant, white disk located in space. Though he meant for it to be short, Taka found himself enthralled by the moon.

It seemed to call to him, and he soon motioned a hand towards it as to steal it from its lofty perch... no, he seemed to be grabbing for something to take him there...

 _ **'No... not yet...'**_

What? Who had said that? Nobody was around him, and he was certain nobody could have put him under a genjutsu.

He stood at attention, waiting for the voice once again to form words. He stood there until the morning sun broke over the horizon without any other word being spoken.

Until, _"Taka! C'mon dude, it's time to get going. Kuramiki is getting antsy!"_

Taka looked down at Furatomi, _"Alright, move on without me. I'll catch up!"_

Taka looked opposite of the rising sun and took one last look at the moon, it's pale body invigorating Taka for some odd reason.

He readjusted the straps of his armor and tightened the band of his mask, and inhaled deeply before trailing his squad.


	3. One Last Stop

" _Taka, two to your left!"_

Taka threw a paper bomb to his side and jumped back, watching as two totally normal humans quickly became mangled pieces of flesh. He risked a glance at Kuramiki and was terrified to see how quickly she had dispatched five Jonin level Shinobi.

Furatomi lifted his mask enough to rub his jaw, the horrid scent of charred flesh burning the groups noses, _"It's been a bit since I've had to use that Jutsu, forgot how much it burned my throat."_

Taka cracked a smile from under his mask, over the past few days he began to understand why Tichi like Furatomi's random jokes, it certainly lessened the depression he had felt after the realization of what he'd done kicked in.

" _Well, it kind of sucks we aren't in the Land of Iron. Could certainly use some of that ice cold snow."_

Furatomi turned towards his younger compatriot, _"You know Taka if I didn't know any better I would say you just made a joke."_

" _The only joke I see is you Furatomi."_ Kuramiki said with a no-nonsense tone, _"C'mon, we are almost there."_ " _Hey, I think I can see my house from here; I wonder if Grandma is visiting Grandpa today."_ for a moment, Furatomi had a frown. But it was gone in second and replaced by his usual smirk, _"Anyhow, it looks like we made it to the path in record time. I'd say we have at least a day or so before that turncoat gets here."_

" _Then you might as well make yourself useful Furatomi, you and Tichi go set up the traps. Taka, you and I will go refresh our supplies for the journey home."_

" _Yes Ma'am."_

* * *

Taka cradled the ornate canteen that belonged to Tichi, he spied a fan-shaped imprint on the cap, _"Captain, what does this symbol mean?"_

Kuramiki studied the engraving and looked at Taka, the young boy knew that behind that mask she was staring at him incredulously, _"That's the Uchiha Clan's Crest... how do you not know that?"_

Taka gulped, Lord Danzo had said not to arouse suspicion, _"My parents were very protective."_

Kuramiki seemed to accept the answer, laughing deeply, _"Aren't they all. My parents wouldn't let me have my own dog until I was seven, seven! Showed them, by the time I had my own Ninja Hound most of the clan had me confused for one."_

Taka looked up, _"Where is your Ninja Hound?"_

Kuramiki grew rigid, _"After filling up the water I want you to check our snares, we ran out of food pills yesterday."_

* * *

It was afternoon by the time Taka had reached camp, his leg bleeding slightly despite the bandage that wound around the better part of it.

Tichi rushed to him immediately, _"Taka, dear lord what did you do?"_

The young Shinobi raised the body of a relatively small sized boar, _"Our snares were destroyed, I caught the guilty party."_

" _Taka you are the man! It's been a bit since I've had some pork, toss that sucker over here and I'll get to cooking it."_

As Furatomi set to grilling the beast using small, controlled bursts of fire, Tichi spared the time to mend the gash in Taka's leg.

" _Sorry Tichi, the boar was faster than I thought."_

She shook her head, _"It's not your fault Taka, the boar destroying our snares I mean. You chasing wildly after it was your fault, we could have easily dined on our food pills."_

" _But Kuramiki said we ran out of them yesterday."_

Tichi giggled, it was the first time Taka had heard anybody giggle, Tsunki always laughed, _"Let me guess, you asked her about her Ninja Hound."_ Taka stared at her blankly, _"Yeah, the Captain had to retire her Ninja Hound years ago after a mission had gone wrong. Poor puppy can't even smell past five feet anymore."_

" _Why can't she get another one?"_

Tichi put a finger to her lips in a frightened manner, _"Shhh, don't ask questions like that."_

Tichi looked at the Captain, she was busy chewing Furatomi out for setting the wrong trap up, _"Whew, you are lucky she didn't hear you. Look, Taka, asking an Inuzuka to get a new Ninja Hound after the one they've had for their entire life is like asking a Mother to throw it's newborn down a river. There are certain things you just don't do."_

For some reason that comparison struck a chord in Taka's heart; for what reason, he could not tell.

" _Oh, thanks for telling me."_

Tichi gave a small laugh, _"What else am I here for if not to keep you alive."_

Taka smiled, it stung a bit. Despite the few moments that Furatomi actually made him smile, he usually kept a rather neutral expression.

" _So, a man walks into a bar."_ Furatomi starts.

Kuramiki buries her face in a hand, _"I swear if this is one of thos-"_

" _His alcohol dependency is tearing his family apart."_ Furatomi beams with pride.

" _Oh my god, Tomi stop!"_ Tichi shakes her head in disappointment.

The sole person laughing was Taka, the others all stared at him in confusion, _"Don't look at me,_ _ **I**_ _don't even know why I'm laughing."_

Furatomi took it as a compliment, _"Glad somebody appreciates my humor."_

" _I would hardly call it humor, it's more along the lines of anti-humor."_

Furatomi gasped, _"Anti-humor... I rather like the sound of that. Thanks, Captain!"_

" _Furatomi! I swear if you..."_

Taka felt somebody scoot closer to him, her void-black hair still smelt like tea, _"So what was your family like."_

He froze up, he hadn't prepared for this question, _"Well... I had parents. But soon it was only my Elder Sister and me."_

Taka gazed at the stars, Tichi's gaze soon followed his, _"What was she like?"_

A star shot across the sky, _"She loved me fiercely, sometimes it felt as if she were more of my mother than my sister."_

" _Sounds nice."_

Taka smiled sadly, _"It was. You know, she never forgot to get me something on my birthday."_

" _What did she get you for your last one?"_

' _ **A scar on my heart.'**_

" _She didn't... she died. It happened the same day I joined the Anbu."_

Tichi turned towards her friend, _"Oh... shit, sorry Taka. I didn't know..."_

He shook his head, there was no way she could have know. She would have also had to have been from The Foundation and she would had to have been by Lord Danzo's side the day it happened.

" _I'm fine, it's still a rough subject but I can't mourn Tsuki forever. She probably would have fussed at me for that outburst I had a few days ago. She was the one who had helped me with my training, she was rather strict, heh..."_

" _Well,"_ Tichi placed a hand on his hand, _"If you ever need an open ear, I'm here."_

Taka didn't know what to say, her hand on his was confusing enough, but the way his heart raced only furthered the confusion.

" _Aww, love on the battlefield."_ two heads swiveled towards the cooing Furatomi.

Kuramiki could be seen suppressing a smile, _"I hope you all know the third unofficial ANBU rule: no promiscuous activities until all remaining members have made their way back into the Village Walls."_

Tichi's face threatened to blind everyone with its crimson glow, _"W-w-what?"_

Taka's vision grew hazy, what did Furatomi mean by love? Sure Tichi had her sisterly moments, but Taka didn't feel she was family. So what was she?

" _Hey, hey! I give, I give!"_ Tichi held Furatomi within a chokehold that even Kuramiki was impressed by.

" _I need more than that, I can handle your teasing but Taka didn't deserve any of it."_

Furatomi looked at Taka, _"Sorry Taka."_

Tichi tightened her grip, _"For what are you sorry for?"_

" _For insinuating that you had a romantic relationship with Tichi."_

Tichi clicked her tongue, _"Put it all together now."_

" _Come on Tichi, this is the hardest thing I've had to do!"_

Taka couldn't help it, he erupted into laughter. He laughed because he was stressed, because it felt like the thing to do. Maybe this was his deceased sister's way of telling him to feel again, not to move on, no that would take time. But she would have definitely wanted him to chin up, to not close himself off.

Karumiki did something that was even more surprising than Taka's laughter, she herself began laughing.

Tichi was so surprised she forgot about Furatomi and released him, _"Why are_ _ **you**_ _laughing?"_

The grizzled Shinobi took a few breaths, _"I don't really know, the kid's laugh must be infectious I guess."_

She walked over to Taka, who was wiping tears from his eyes, and ruffled his hair, _"Ya know kid, I have a son, 'bout seven years, acts like a goof. His birthday is coming up in a week, we should be back to the village by then."_

Taka shook his head, _"I don't understand."_

Kuramiki laughed again, _"Sheesh, you're a dense one. What I'm sayin is you should come, it would probably make him pick up his slack."_

Taka's face was an emotionless blank, _"Sure... I will try."_

Kuramiki shrugged, _"Honestly, that the best answer you could probably give."_

Taka nodded.

" _I'll make sure you do though."_ she finished with a wink.

* * *

The young Ninja stared at the moon once more, his hand once more reaching for the invisible portal that would take him there. Once again, no such thing came for him, and once again he did not understand why he had expected anything of the sorts.

As he closed his eyes he felt millions of other ones staring down to him, wondering where he is. He felt his body open up like the cocoon does for a butterfly, and he felt him, no his inner self, fly forth on wings that did not exist.

He left for the pale sphere we know as the moon, he had reached the top of the tallest peak in seconds, _**'Only a bit further...'**_

While his soul had flown off, his body had stayed on the earth below, and something now was shifting that stillness. A burning sensation soon latched onto the icy blue form of Taka's inner self and it fell back into unison with his physical self back on Earth.

He awoke with a start and reached into his back supply pouch and pulled the last gift that Tsuki had bestowed upon him, the symbol of the clan he was supposedly born to, _**'You always did worry about family..."**_

Taka looked around the camp, his eyes stopping on Kuramiki, she probably would've loved Tsuki like a daughter. The next one his vision stopped on was Furatomi, he would've been a great replacement for Taka.

He searched for one other person, but could not find her, at least he couldn't until she had taken a seat next to him, _"Were you looking for me?"_

Taka was happy his mask was on, it kept her from seeing his face as the heat flushed them, _"I was just making sure everybody was still alive."_

" _Aw, how sweet."_

Taka's heart beat faster at the comment, he hated that his heart did so. There was no rhyme or reason for it, or, at least none, he could see, _"T-Thank you..."_

Tichi donned her mask, the pale primate face obscuring her features but somehow did nothing to shroud the fact she was still smiling, _"Get some sleep Taka, tomorrow's gonna require you to be at your best."_

He obliged happily; every night, when he had been on watch, he had never slept. The moon had seemingly kept him awake.

As he lay on the ground below he felt the Luna's siren call, but whatever creature that made creatures sleep had made its call louder and Taka soon found himself in a dreamless slumber.

* * *

 ** _Hello, L here. I just wanted to thank you, the readers in general, for taking any interest in Taka. For those of you who had read the previous Taka's story, thank your for bearing with me as I redid the entire thing; and for you new readers, thank you immensely for even getting this far into the story, I feel as if I'm not that talented but to have even five people read this is just amazing!_**

 ** _I'm still working on a viable story line right now, but coupled with my Undertale story and Steven Universe story, this one is going to take a bit of time._**

 _ **Also, there is definitely a reason that Taka is so infatuated with the moon, just thought you guys should know for sure**_ _ **;)**_

 _ **With that said, I hope each and everyone of you have an awesome day, night, and/or afternoon :D**_


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